In One Parish, Divide Over Housing Newcomers

GREENSBURG, La., Sept. 27 - The federal government, straining to find temporary housing for thousands of evacuees from New Orleans, has generally encountered hospitality in cities and towns in the gulf area. But the reception has been very different in the small parish of St. Helena.

Here, 80 miles northwest of New Orleans, white residents have spoken up at public meetings to oppose vehemently the construction of temporary housing for the evacuees, most of whom are black. The tension could complicate tentative plans by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to buy land in the parish for trailer lots.

"The only thing we see about these people on the news is what happened in the Superdome," said Philip Devall, 42, a white resident of Greensburg, at a recent meeting of the parish government. "They're rapists and thugs and murderers. I'm telling you, half of them have criminal records. I've worked all my life to have what I have. I can't lose it, and I can't stand guard 24 hours a day."

About 2,000 evacuees have been staying with friends and family in the parish since Hurricane Katrina, and police officials here say that crime related to the newcomers has been virtually nonexistent. But many residents say that fear is the driving force behind their opposition.

When one white man expressed concern at the meeting over possibly losing his valuables to lawless evacuees, a black woman turned around and angrily pointed a finger at him. "We work hard for what we got, too," she said. "But these people need a place to stay."

FEMA has not formally announced its plans here, having only begun to inquire about the number of evacuees in the parish and the availability of land for trailers, parish officials said. Thomas Wicker, president of the St. Helena Parish Police Jury, as the county commission is known, described the agency's efforts as "very preliminary."

Nonetheless, the possibility has already begun to divide neighbors.

At a public meeting on Tuesday night, Arise Hitchen, 45, a black resident of Greensburg, said that her family was willing to donate 30 acres of land for the placement of trailers but expressed concern that she might not get the chance because of her neighbors' attitudes.

"Living here, I expected this, but I thought people would eventually give in," Ms. Hitchen said. "It's sad to hear people be this negative. This could easily be us tomorrow."

St. Helena Parish is an agricultural area lined by pine and hardwood forests, its 10,500 residents a somewhat equal mix of 52 percent black and 46 percent white. The median household income here is less than $25,000, and the parish's tax base barely supports essential government services. Its school district consistently ranks low among the already low statewide educational performance.

James McIntyre, a spokesman for FEMA, said many cities and towns had opened their doors to housing for the evacuees, but some had expressed reservations about the effect on schools, utilities or law enforcement. In those cases, Mr. McIntyre said, the agency could provide money to ease the impact. He said he had heard unconfirmed reports of resistance based on race, and in those cases the agency would work with the governor's office to deal with the problem.

One evacuee from New Orleans now living in the parish said that she felt unwelcome but hoped that the temporary housing would be built because she had no other place to go.

"I just want a place for me and my kids," said the evacuee, who asked to remain anonymous to avoid being singled out. "I'm staying in a house with 13 people, and we got to do something."